Delhi HC Directs Gymnastics Federation To Review 13-Year-Old Nakul Karekar’s Exclusion From World Age Group Championships 2026

Mumbai, October 15, 2026: Konkan-based environmental activist Bhavesh Karekar has challenged the Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI) over the exclusion of his 13-year-old son from the Indian contingent for the upcoming 32nd World Age Group Championships in Nanjing, China, despite the youngster having qualified for the event.

After Karekar filed a writ petition before the Delhi High Court, the GFI released a revised list of candidates participating in the competition.The list was Released on October 15, with 17 participants from Maharashtra. The initial list issued by the GFI on October 5 had only seven participants and did not include the petitioner’s son.

High Court Directs Federation To Explain Selection Decision

The Delhi High Court has directed the GFI to consider a representation filed by the father of 13-year-old trampoline gymnast Nakul Bhavesh Karekar, who was excluded from the Indian contingent for the upcoming 32nd World Age Group Championships in Nanjing, China, and communicate the reasons for its decision within a week.

Justice Amit Mahajan, by an order dated October 14, disposed of a writ petition filed by Bhavesh Arun Karekar, challenging his son’s exclusion from the international competition scheduled from November 12 to 15, 2026.

During the hearing, counsel appearing for the GFI told the court that the representation submitted by the petitioner on October 9 would be duly considered and an order passed within one week.

“The reasons for passing the said order shall be duly communicated to the petitioner,” the court directed.

Petition Alleges Exclusion Despite Meeting Qualifying Criteria

The father had approached the Delhi High Court alleging that his son was arbitrarily excluded despite meeting the qualifying benchmark published by the federation. According to the petition, Nakul secured a difficulty score of 6.20 and a final score of 80.50 in the Men’s Trampoline AG-2 (13–14 years) category at the National Championships held in Bengaluru from September 25 to 27.

The petition stated that the selection criteria, published on September 24, prescribed a difficulty score of 5.50 and a final score of 80.50 for the category. It alleged that the selection list issued on October 5 included gymnasts from the tumbling discipline but omitted trampoline gymnasts without explaining the reasons.

The petitioner also alleged that repeated representations seeking clarification had gone unanswered. He sought directions for the disclosure of the selection criteria, evaluation sheets and minutes of the selection committee, besides requesting that his son’s candidature be reconsidered for the international event.

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The High Court disposed of the petition after recording the federation’s undertaking to consider the representation and communicate its reasons.

“I believe athletes who work hard to achieve qualifying standards should get a fair opportunity to represent the country at international competitions. They should not lose such opportunities because of uncertainty or a lack of communication,” Karekar said.

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